5th Trials - Suggestions and Feedback

[kev]

Please post suggestions and feedback about the 5th Trials. Thanks.

[TheonlyrealBeef]

I have several comments on phase 1 already, of which I'm not exactly pleased and I'd really like to see different in future trials:

Choice of aspects: being a master is about many things, not just two aspects. Being able to choose from many aspects allows you to make up for the aspects you are "less adept" at. Currently there are only two to choose from, both of which you must fulfill in order to get full points, I'd rather see 5-8 from which one chooses ~3 to get full points.
Commenting ideas: the current deck idea commenting basically has a cap on the amount of possible replies by limiting it to new decks. That on itself isn't all that bad, but combine it with the fact that you can neither get full trial points without, AND the fact that participants aren't really limited and you have one big problem.

That is all for now.

[RavingRabbid]

I hoped to see a Wiki-related task.

I enjoy the PoW before the signup.

[willng3]

I'm not a fan of the current way that Phase 1 is set up.  I would much more prefer that Trials participants were required to stick strictly to the Element they were planning on joining.  Yes, commenting on only Fire decks and then going for Water MIGHT affect your votes during the 3rd Phase, but it doesn't seem as if you're actually worthy of joining the Trials of Water to begin with if that's the case, you'd be worthy of joining the Trials of Fire.

[Tiko]

Personally, I really miss the Phase I Ingame Proving of Worthiness (PvE). I understand mastership is only a Forum-title, but we are all doing this because of the game after all (I think). But now with some basic (card idea) spamming abilities, you can prove yourself worthy as a Master of an Element? This is a bad thing.

[Jocko]

Altough this is the first time i join trials, i expected phase 1 to be a little more challenging. Anyone can write a *decent* comment about a deck and design some cards.

[majofa]

Having Phase I (Proving of Worthiness) before the signups is a welcome change. Too often people would sign up, bump someone else out and then not do a lot with Phase I, thus eliminating themselves from contention.

As far as the two requirements for Phase I, I'm not sure I like them much. The card idea should have been reduced to 1-2 (for each element a player wanted to sign up for). The player would have to discuss some of the problems the particular element has and how this card idea would help, or any new synergies it would add.

The second part of Phase I, should have again been built around deck building. Whether we like it or not, a huge part of being a Master is being a General in War. How well does a player know his element? What did that element do right/wrong in the last War? What kind of impact will this new Master make?

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Also, when it gets to the voting aspect, all players mathematically eliminated should not be included in the polls.

[UTAlan]

Also, when it gets to the voting aspect, all players mathematically eliminated should not be included in the polls.

Seconded.

[nilsieboy]

Having Phase I (Proving of Worthiness) before the signups is a welcome change. Too often people would sign up, bump someone else out and then not do a lot with Phase I, thus eliminating themselves from contention.

As far as the two requirements for Phase I, I'm not sure I like them much. The card idea should have been reduced to 1-2 (for each element a player wanted to sign up for). The player would have to discuss some of the problems the particular element has and how this card idea would help, or any new synergies it would add.

The second part of Phase I, should have again been built around deck building. Whether we like it or not, a huge part of being a Master is being a General in War. How well does a player know his element? What did that element do right/wrong in the last War? What kind of impact will this new Master make?

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Also, when it gets to the voting aspect, all players mathematically eliminated should not be included in the polls.

agreed, i think the card creating is a bit overkill and i miss the deckbuilding.

[willng3]

Well this new Proving of Worthiness system certainly has proven to be interesting.  But about the Deckbuilding Task...

It was a probably a good move extending the range of deck threads to the rest of the Deck Ideas board as opposed to just Deck Help like last Trials, but there's a negative side effect that I feel needs mentioned.

As opposed to Deck Help where people actually expect people to improve their decks and give them constructive criticism, the remainder of the Deck Ideas board allows people to submit their decks in what to them feels a finalized form.  Granted, it's not uncommon for you to see people who do want suggestions to their decks, there are those who expect people to just use their deck and not tell them to completely change it since they've tested it a fair amount before posting it.  Now, because people are required to give 200 words of feedback in addition to a deck image, this practically demands that they change some aspect of the deck in a drastic manner or else they're going to end up spending the next wall of text discussing why they changed Pends to Pillars or added 2 Flying Weapons to the deck.  Then there's the complication with having so many participants commenting on the same decks.  You naturally don't want to find yourself in a position where you wait too long to comment on a deck because there's a chance that people might go crazy and take all the decks that you think actually need a major improvement.  As a result, less time is spent focusing on the quality of a deck submission and instead a participant can be expected to comment on as many decks as possible in the shortest amount of time.

With a combination of the factors I discussed above, there's a distinct possibility of these thread creators (or even other random forum members) responding harshly or negatively to the Trials post and its poster, which seems to be the opposite of what is desired from this task.  When this Phase is over you'll be able to see just what percentage of users didn't appreciate the criticism given to their decks.

[Sevs]

This is my first trials, but I actually really liked the first phase. The deckbuilding is a great way to focus the expertise on the forum towards a section that sometimes lacks attention, and in most cases provides some extremely helpful feedback.

As for the cards, I see no harm with Xeno's cardbuilder, once you had the idea, it literally took seconds to type everything in and upload it to imgur with the button, the art was the hardest part. But it shows your creative side, and knowledge of the game and what it might need.

Lastly I feel confining phase 1 to decks/cards of a certain element is difficult because, some elements like gravity dont exactly have pages of decks to comment on, forcing you to post subpar improvements/comments. plus a master will have a chance to show their proficiency in their element in the coming phases.

[deuce22]

Sadly, I agree with what will said. I find myself defending my suggestions in subsequent posts against angry community members...

Overall, I have no issues with the concept of Phase I. I like that it gets challengers involved within the forums, and it is not overly complex to deter challengers. Although, it seems that we have a significant lack of challengers this trials...